As the NFL Draft unfolds this week, Petoskey alum and former Central Michigan tight end Joel Wilson will wait for the phone to ring.
If you had told him six years ago that he’d be this close to a shot at the NFL, he probably would have believed you. He just might not have believed what position he’d be playing.
Wilson was a standout quarterback for Petoskey High School and said he never played a single down at tight end for the Northmen.
“I came to a one-day camp at Central [Michigan] as a quarterback and then toward the end of the camp they had me run routes,” Wilson said. “I guess I ‘mossed’ a couple of guys and they liked what they saw. That one day camp was my first time ever running routes. So I guess I just had a knack for it.”
That knack quickly grew into a developed understanding of the position when he got to Central Michigan. Undersized for a college tight end, Wilson said he knew it was going to be a challenge to learn the new position but he embraced learning from the coaches and other talented Chippewa players.
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” he said. “I was coming [to CMU] and I was only like 205 pounds. So I knew blocking was going to be pretty tough.”
Wilson took a redshirt year in 2018 as he learned the new spot and was prepared for an increased role as a redshirt freshman in 2019, but a broken foot in the first game of the season set back his progression.
In the Covid-shortened 2020 season, Wilson started three of Central Michigan’s six games and gained valuable experience which helped him make a huge leap in 2021.
“Just having prior experience in that 2020 year, really getting starts and valuable reps in the game. Once you get that out of the way you get a different level of confidence to you that really helps.”
The newfound confidence helped Wilson become one of the Chippewas top offensive weapons in 2021, making 31 receptions for 367 yards and six touchdowns.
“I would say that after that [2021] season I started to realize that the NFL could be like a real shot for me,” he said.
Wilson came into the 2022 season as one of the proven veteran leaders for CMU. He continued to play well through the season’s first eight games but suffered a serious low-ankle sprain in week nine that ended his season.
“I mean that sucked, you know? I didn’t want the season to end like that,” Wilson said. “I figured after that happened that I’d probably have to stay in college for another year.”
Even though his season was cut short, Wilson still finished as Central Michigan’s leader in touchdown receptions for the season and earned Third Team All-MAC honors.
But the NFL Draft process is fickle by nature and an injury like the one Wilson suffered can have an impact on a team’s evaluation of a player.
Wilson consulted with Dr. Robert Anderson, a foot specialist based in Green Bay who works with some of the top players in the NFL. After Dr. Anderson informed him he wouldn’t need surgery on the injured ankle, he rehabbed and weigh his options.
Wilson said the way he saw it, he had three options: declare for the draft, return to CMU for another year, or try to transfer to a bigger school and further prove himself.
After conversations with mentors and loved ones, Wilson decided to declare for the draft.
“By the time it came down to it I was like you know what, I don’t really want to do any more homework,” he joked. “But no, not that. It was pretty much I was kind of at the point where I figured I did enough in my college career and I was confident in the way I was playing.”
Wilson was on a top 30 visit with the San Francisco 49ers last week and is ranked as the No. 15 tight end in this year’s draft class by ESPN. He’s projected to go in the late rounds or to be scooped up as an undrafted free agent. But for Wilson, just getting to the NFL has never been the goal.
“It’ll be fulfilling one of my dreams but my [main] dream has never been just to make it to the NFL. I mean you have to go there and you have to fight. You have to take a grown man’s spot off a team.”
Wherever Wilson winds up next, he said he’s thankful for the support of the Northern Michigan communities that have shaped him into the person and player he is today. He said representing Northern Michigan well is a responsibility he takes seriously.
“Just being from Petoskey, I’m not sure that anybody has been in the position that I’m in right now. It’s a big thing for me to make Petoskey proud and Petoskey High School proud.”
